34 | MARCH 19 • 2020 

Coronavirus in Israel: 
My story of being 
evacuated in 8 hours.
B

ack in the good old 
days of early March, 
when Israel only had 
15 confirmed cases of the 
coronavirus, Israelis were 
much more cautious about 
the outbreak than anyone 
else. Ben- 
Gurion Airport 
was already 
empty, the train 
to Haifa even 
emptier, and 
even the brave 
who headed 
outside made 
sure to cover their faces. 
I, however, was adventur-
ous enough to visit an old 
friend living in Kibbutz Erez, 
located near the Gaza border 
and 100 miles away from my 
hometown. Too adventurous, 
as I have come to learn the 
hard way, when my one-week 
trip to my home country was 
cut short by the global out-
break.
That was before the World 
Health Organization had 
officially declared the coro-
navirus a pandemic, before 
all foreigners were banned 

from entering Israel unless 
they self-quarantined and 
way before the 100th Israeli 
COVID-19 patient was diag-
nosed.
Today, the world is a com-
pletely different place.

‘
YOU MUST LEAVE’
I was spending some quality 
time in Israel’
s warm south 
when the push notifications 
poured in. All travelers who 
had landed in Israel in the 
past two weeks from Austria, 
France, Spain, Switzerland 
and my current country of 
residence, Germany, were to 
go into quarantine.
My phone buzzed more. 
“You must leave right away,” 
a German colleague texted, 
“otherwise you won’
t get out.”
Friends sent WhatsApp 
messages, canceling appoint-
ments. “I guess we can’
t really 
meet now,” they said.
I now belonged to the 
group of people no longer 
allowed to be in physical con-
tact with the outside world. 
My flight back to Germany 
was only four days away. But 

Dana Regev
Contributing 
Writer

An empty train station in Tel Aviv

 DANA REGEV

Eretz

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www.hfldetroit.org 248.723.8184

Hebrew Free Loan Detroit

6735 Telegraph Road, Suite 300 Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48301

@HFLDetroit

Sarah Berkey grew up in West Bloomfield and
believes the Jewish community helped shape her
life. Now in her mid-twenties, Sarah grew up as an
active participant in Jewish educational experiences,
involved with local Jewish agencies, and enjoyed
helping others. Sarah was also a motivated student
and was accepted to the University of Michigan, but
was uncertain of her career path. Just before starting
her college experience, she was diagnosed with
Crohn’s Disease. 
“As I navigated the health system, I saw the good
and the bad, I saw patients in need of support, and
I saw an opportunity to make a difference,” Sarah
said. “Little did I know that this experience would
lead to a passion, a drive and a career path.”
Sarah applied and was accepted to U of M’s
Master’s degree program in social work. She struggled
with the idea of funding graduate school on her own,
while also maintaining her high academic standards.
The repayments on federal loans intimidated her,
and she wasn’t sure what she would do. 
Then, while sitting shiva for her grandmother,
Sarah was speaking to a family friend about her plans,
and the friend suggested the William Davidson
Jewish College Loan Program at Hebrew
Free Loan. 
“Who knew that one conversation would have
such an impact on my life?” Sarah said. “Because
of HFL and the Jewish community, I graduated from
my MSW program with a 4.0, I completed my
internship and began my dream job as a medical
social worker. Each day, I get the opportunity to
make a difference in the lives of patients because
my community believed in me.”

 

STORY
My
STORY
My

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